perplexity_small

Query Perplexity's sonar-pro model for fast factual answers and basic research with optimal speed and cost-effectiveness.

Instructions

Quick and reliable queries using Perplexity's sonar-pro model.

Best for: Fast factual questions, basic research, immediate answers.
Uses default parameters for optimal speed and cost-effectiveness.

Args:
    query: The question or prompt to send to Perplexity
    messages: Optional conversation context (list of {"role": "user/assistant", "content": "..."})

Returns:
    Dictionary with content and citations

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description	Default
`query`	Yes
`messages`	No

Implementation Reference

server.py:36-76 (handler)

The main handler function for the 'perplexity_small' tool. It is decorated with @mcp.tool() for registration, processes the input query by appending to messages, uses TOOL_CONFIGS['small'] to call PerplexityClient.chat_completion, formats the response, and handles errors.

@mcp.tool()
def perplexity_small(query: str, messages: List[Dict[str, str]] = None) -> Dict[str, Any]:
    """
    Quick and reliable queries using Perplexity's sonar-pro model.
    
    Best for: Fast factual questions, basic research, immediate answers.
    Uses default parameters for optimal speed and cost-effectiveness.
    
    Args:
        query: The question or prompt to send to Perplexity
        messages: Optional conversation context (list of {"role": "user/assistant", "content": "..."})
    
    Returns:
        Dictionary with content and citations
    """
    try:
        client = get_perplexity_client()
        
        # Prepare messages
        if messages is None:
            messages = []
        
        # Add the current query
        messages.append({"role": "user", "content": query})
        
        # Get tool configuration
        config = TOOL_CONFIGS["small"]
        
        # Make API request
        response = client.chat_completion(messages=messages, **config)
        
        # Format and return response
        return client.format_response(response)
        
    except Exception as e:
        logger.exception("Error in perplexity_small")
        return {
            "error": "tool_error",
            "message": f"Failed to process query: {str(e)}"
        }

config.py:27-29 (helper)
TOOL_CONFIGS['small'] configuration specifying the 'sonar-pro' model used by the perplexity_small tool.
```
"small": {
    "model": "sonar-pro"
},
```

server.py:28-34 (helper)

Helper function to get or lazily initialize the shared PerplexityClient instance used by the tool.

def get_perplexity_client() -> PerplexityClient:
    """Get or create the Perplexity client instance."""
    global perplexity_client
    if perplexity_client is None:
        perplexity_client = PerplexityClient()
    return perplexity_client

server.py:36-36 (registration)
The @mcp.tool() decorator registers the perplexity_small function as an MCP tool.
```
@mcp.tool()
```

Perplexity MCP Server